0800 086 9360

Get Through Short Term Problems

Everyone suffers from short term problems at some time in their life. Here are some actions you can take which can help speed up the time it takes to get your financial fortunes back to normal.

Generate Cash - Reduce Your Debt

Sell any unwanted items on eBay, or Amazon Marketplace.

Sell any Premium Bonds or any unused foreign currency you may have.

If you have any small savings accounts lying around, transfer them to your current account.

Take Control of your Finances

Draw up a simple monthly budget on paper or using Excel and try your best to stick to it.

Draw up a list of what you owe and the monthly payments on all of your borrowings.

Check your Credit Report to make sure you haven’t missed anything and to keep track of your borrowings. On checkmyfile this is FREE for 30 days and then costs £14.99 per month until you cancel, which you can do at any time.

Reduce Your Outgoings

Move to cheaper lenders, go for 0% introductory deals to save even more and always remember to close your expensive card accounts to avoid the temptation of using them in future.

Consider changing energy supplier. It only takes about 20 minutes and typically will save £200 per year.

Ask your bank for a list of all standing orders and direct debits - go through them and cancel anything you don't really need.

Arrange to pay the minimum payment on all your credit cards by direct debit, and then pay more if you can afford it using the tear off slip. That way, you'll keep your Credit Rating intact.

If you have a mortgage, think about remortgaging and consolidating your debt, preferably without increasing the debt, to a new mortgage lender that offers an introductory cheap rate. Do your sums carefully. Try to locate a specialist Independent Financial Advisor who has a lot of experience, not only in finding mortgages quickly, but also for debt-stressed people.

If you have a car with a loan outstanding against it, check whether you could be better off selling it, repaying the loan (check for any early repayment penalties first) and leasing a new one to reduce your costs of motoring. A small car can be leased for just over £170 per month which will cover your road tax, breakdown cover and provide a warranty against breakdown. Pick the right one and you could save money on fuel too.

Get Assistance

Information

checkmyfile is a trade mark and is a trading name of Credit Reporting Agency Limited (Registered number 3719598). Credit Reporting Agency Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (firm reference 690175). Credit Reporting Agency Limited is a Credit Reference Agency notified with the Office of the Information Commissioner, registration number Z6636832. Our VAT number is GB 738 731 215. Credit Reporting Agency Limited is registered in England and has its registered office at Trevithick House, Trevissome Park, Truro, TR4 8UN.

Monthly fee of £14.99 applies after your free 30-day trial. You may cancel at any time without charge by Freephone, Secure Message, email or online. The free 30-day trial applies only to new customers aged 18 years or more who are living in the UK. The 30-day free trial period starts when you register. If we are unable to verify your identity online when you register, we may ask you to provide information to us which may delay access to your Credit Report.

* The data we obtain from the four Credit Reference Agencies, which we use to build your checkmyfile Credit Report, differs in depth. We obtain all available data from Callcredit, Crediva and Equifax. Experian provides us with the data they report to lenders with the exception of the credit history data that lenders provide to them, which lenders also provide to Callcredit, Equifax or to both in the vast majority of cases; and also with the exception of Cifas fraud data, which is supplied to Experian in the same format to Callcredit and Equifax, and which we also show on your checkmyfile Credit Report. We present all of this data in the same format so you can more easily compare the differences between agencies, spot errors and, by using the common yardstick of your checkmyfile Credit Scores, you can also see how your creditworthiness differs, depending on which Credit Reference Agency is searched by a prospective lender.